Purpose: The study was conducted to determine the effect of the cartoon-assisted preparation package, developed for children undergoing an endoscopy procedure, on children's fear and anxiety levels and parental satisfaction.
Design and methods: The study was conducted in a randomized controlled experimental design between April 2018-July 2019. The study sample consisted of a total of 65 children and their parents (33 in the intervention group and 32 in the control group) who met the research inclusion criteria in this study population. The intervention group was prepared for an endoscopy procedure with the cartoon-assisted preparation package for endoscopy.
Results: The mean fear scores of the children in the intervention group were 3.39 ± 0.56 before endoscopy, 1.67 ± 0.54 during endoscopy, and 0.52 ± 0.67 after endoscopy, with statistically significant difference between the mean fear scores. The mean fear scores in the control group were 3.00 ± 0.80 before endoscopy, 3.13 ± 0.79 during endoscopy, and 2.25 ± 1.16 after endoscopy, with statistically significant difference between the mean fear scores. The anxiety scores of the children were 33.79 ± 4.00 in the intervention group and 36.56 ± 3.52 in the control group before endoscopy, and the difference between anxiety scores was statistically significant (p < 0.05). The mean satisfaction scores of the parents in the experimental group after endoscopy (78.44 ± 10.01) was higher than that of the control group (73.52 ± 12.92), but the difference between the groups was not statistically significant (p > 0.05).
Conclusion: The cartoon-assisted preparation package for endoscopy was found to be effective in reducing fear and anxiety that may occur in children undergoing endoscopy, in the 7-12 age group.
Keywords: Anxiety; Cartoons; Child; Endoscopy; Nursing; Parental satisfaction.
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